Comprehensive Doctrine of Justification (1)
[Romans 1:18-32, 3:23]
Starting today, I will meditate on the comprehensive doctrine of justification. Under the overarching theme of 'Comprehensive Doctrine of Justification,' there are nine subtopics: (1) The Necessity of Justification, (2) The Originator of Justification, (3) The Foundation of Justification, (4) The Method of Justification, (5) The Universality of Justification, (6) The Purpose of Justification, (7) The Evidence of Justification, (8) The Results of Justification, and (9) The Confirmation of Justification.
First, I would like to reflect on the necessity of justification.
This is Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” According to this word of God, since “all” people have sinned, they absolutely need justification to reach the glory of God. Here, “all” refers to every individual, starting from Adam, the first person in Genesis, without exception. Apostle Paul in Romans categorizes these “all” people into four groups: (1) Gentiles (1:18-32), (2) Those who judge others (2:1-16), (3) Jews (2:17-3:8), (4) All humankind (3:9ff.). All these “all” people have sinned (3:23). Look at Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned.” Here, the “one man” is Adam from Genesis, who disobeyed God's command in the covenant, committing sin. God's command was: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam's disobedience is evident: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (3:6). Because Adam, the representative of humanity, sinned, his sin was imputed to all people. The Bible speaks of this, saying that “by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin” (Rom. 5:12). The meaning of this statement is that Adam's sin has become the possession of everyone through heredity. This includes not only the imputation of Adam's guilt to everyone but also the transmission of his corrupted and fallen nature to all of us (original sin). Even infants, though incapable of violating any law, are included in “all” people (v. 12). The reason is that Adam's sin has been imputed to infants as well [Ps. 51:5) “'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity”]. Westminster Confession of Faith 6:3 states: “They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed; and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation” (Internet).
The Bible states that "all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12), and here, we need to seriously contemplate the concept of "sin." The reason is that understanding what "sin" is accurately is crucial. Only when we understand what sin is can we grasp the necessity of justification accurately in comprehensive theology. Justification is God, by His grace, declaring a sinner righteous. Without a precise understanding of what "sin" is, we cannot accurately identify who the "sinners" are, and without understanding the "sinners," we cannot comprehend the necessity of God's justification for them. Furthermore, the reason for this lies in the fact that without realizing the abundance, enormity, depth, and height of "sin," we cannot fully appreciate the richness, magnitude, depth, and height of God's "grace." Romans 5:20b says, "...where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." The more we recognize the extent and depth of "sin," the more we can understand the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ's "love." Ephesians 3:18-19 states, "may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
The Bible declares that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), so let's now consider the sins of the Gentiles (1:18-32).
- Gentiles cannot make excuses for the sins they have committed (no room for excuses).
Romans 1:20b says, "...so that they are without excuse." Perhaps they might make excuses, saying, "We didn't have the Scriptures, nor have we heard the Gospel," etc., to claim ignorance, but the Bible clearly states that they knew and yet sinned. However, God is not one who works to provide excuses for people. God worked to make Gentiles know Him. In other words, since God created all things, He made it possible for Gentiles to know Him through creation. Romans 1:19-20 states, "For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse." For example, looking at the people God created, we can know God because He created humans in His image, even though that image has been distorted due to sin. Furthermore, we can know God through the sun, moon, and stars that God created (Gen. 1:14-18). In this way, God made His attributes, specifically His eternal power and divine nature, evident through everything He created (v. 20, Modern Korean Bible). Therefore, they cannot excuse themselves for not knowing God!
- Even though the Gentiles clearly knew God, they did not glorify Him or express gratitude.
Romans 1:21 states, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Therefore, these Gentiles became sinners. James 4:17 says, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin." The thoughts of these Gentiles became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened, so even though they knew what was right, they did not act on it. Therefore, they committed sin. Westminster Shorter Catechism Question and Answer 1 state: (Q) "What is the chief end of man?" (A) "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." However, since these Gentiles did not glorify God or express gratitude to Him, they sinned.
- Gentiles did not worship the eternal living God but, instead, worshipped idols in the form of animals.
Romans 1:21 (Modern Korean Bible): ‘For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.’ The reason Gentiles did not worship the eternal living God but instead worshipped idols in the form of animals is that they considered themselves wise but were, in fact, foolish (v. 22, Modern Korean Bible).
- Gentiles committed the sin of homosexuality.
Romans 1:26-27 (Modern Korean Bible): ‘That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.’ This passage addresses the sin of homosexuality (same-sex marriage). The Bible emphasizes that marriage should be between one man and one woman. However, Gentiles committed the sin of having one man marry another man, and one woman marry another woman. They faced the ‘due penalty’ (v. 27, Modern Korean Bible), an ‘appropriate punishment’ (v. 27, Modern Korean Bible), as seen in the example of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction with sulfur and fire (Gen. 19:24-25).
- Gentiles committed 21 kinds of sins.
Romans 1:29-31 (Modern Korean Bible): ‘They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.’ Because Gentiles rejected the idea of acknowledging God (choosing not to know God), God let them pursue their depraved minds, allowing them to engage in improper conduct (v. 28). As a result, they committed 21 kinds of sins. Is there anyone who does not fall into these 21 kinds of sins? Absolutely not! Gentiles, knowing that those who practice such things deserve to die, not only do them but give approval to those who practice them (v. 32).
Since there is no one who can claim not to have committed any of these sins, justification is absolutely necessary. The reason is that if we sinners do not receive justification from God, the penalty for our sins would be eternal destruction. However, even those who receive justification still commit sins. Nevertheless, God ensures that they do not perish but obtain eternal life. Therefore, justification is undeniably and absolutely necessary.